two bits

[pantryslut]

1) misia has just posted an entry about easy vs. difficult cooking with which I concur. She probably doesn't need extra traffic, so feel free to violate LJ mores and discuss here if you're not already a regular reader of her journal. Or not. I'm just glad to see someone else is baffled by the idea that the sort of cooking I do is difficult or skill-intensive. I ain't never going to grow up to be a pasty chef, either.

2) I've been meaning to mention this for a while: Bottoms Up!, edited by Diana Cage, is out and about; I received my contributor's copy last week. If you want a print copy of my somehwat infamous performance piece "Test Driving the Celebrity Cock," this is the place to go.

Comments

[postmaudlin.livejournal.com]

I received my contributor's copy last week

I am now so peevy since *I* do not have my contributor's copy!

::peeve peeve peeve::

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

That's OK, gordonzola had a reviewer's copy way back on the occasion of his birthday party, and I was peeved then, too.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

heh heh heh. It was a present from one of the authors. Maybe I should get all you guys to sign it.

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

I think misia is underestimating what's involved in getting a handle on even basic cooking skills. I learned them a long time ago. Many of them live in my hands and not my brain.

Think like a technical writer. Can you write a procedure that describes how to peel an onion?

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

Can you write a procedure that describes how to peel an onion?

Don't ask a writer that question. It's just a challenge.

I've taught a certain person in my life how to cook from the "I can't boil water" point onwards, so I'm actually quite aware of what it takes (and how long) to learn even basic cooking skills. I still feel that everyone should know many of them -- my school district made everyone take both Industrial Arts and Homemaking (i.e. sewing and cooking), and I think they had the right idea.

But I still concur with the idea that a lot of what I do cooking-wise is easier than people give me credit for. The magic isn't in the technique in my case, that's for sure.